Cuba’s president urges ‘urgent’ changes in island’s economic and business model

Havana — Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Monday that his government must focus “immediately” on implementing urgent transformations to the island’s economic and social model as the Caribbean country’s oil reserves dwindle.

The comments at a meeting of the Council of Ministers come as Cuba feels the pinch of the latest oil embargo, with oil shipments from Venezuela halted after the US attacked the South American country in January.

“We must immediately focus on implementing the urgent, much-needed transformations to the economic and social model,” he was quoted as saying by state-owned media.

Díaz-Canel said the effort to transform Cuba’s economic and social model is linked to business and municipal autonomy and the resizing of state apparatuses, government and institutions.

He called on municipalities to manage issues including foreign direct investment; Economic partnership between state and non-state sectors; and investments with Cubans living abroad, according to state-owned media.

Cuba’s priorities are focused on food production and changes to the island’s power grid, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said, as severe outages and disruptions in energy supplies continue.

Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy was quoted by state media as saying that despite the distribution of solar panels to doctors, teachers and children, progress in developing a transition strategy by municipalities is still slow. Municipalities should have a sustainability strategy that relies on their own resources, he said.

Last month, Cuba implemented draconian energy-saving measures, including halting some public transportation and moving classes online.

Last week, the US Treasury Department slightly eased restrictions on the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but the island’s energy and financial crisis is expected to continue.

In addition to its energy problems, Cuba is struggling with a sharp increase in US sanctions, which have deprived the island of nearly $8 billion in revenue from March 2024 to February 2025, a nearly 50% loss compared to the previous period, according to government figures.

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